Just as I noticed the other day when doing some observations and talking with a couple doctors, everyone in the clinic joined in prayer and a short reading. A woman comes in to introduce a passage, one of the staff reads a small reading from The Bible, and another staff member says a prayer.
The doctor was supposed to get in at 9:00 AM, but she still hadn't come in as of 9:53 AM when I finally decided to check what the status was. It wasn't until 10:45 AM that I entered her office for my consult. I explained to her my history and symptoms ... since the previous Sunday, I had been with stomach pains and a lack of appetite. One night, I woke up in a spell of uncontrollable shivering, and I was with back and neck pain and stiffness for a couple days. I had been lacking energy and was very sleepy, and I noticed more stomach pain after eating.
Suspecting I had a parasitic infection, she ordered three lab tests, of which the culture would take a few days to receive the results. The hope was to identify exactly what type of parasite I have, if that was the case, so she could know the best way to treat me. All said and done, I left the clinic at 12:30 PM to get the antispasmodic for pain and Nexium-equivalent to protect my stomach that she had prescribed and returned the next morning with a couple samples for them to run the tests. I was hoping we would find out what had been bringing me down so that I could get back to 100%.
This past week, though, I began feeling better, and I'm now completely without the pain. I went this morning for my follow-up, regardless, just so she could see my test results and confirm everything. I did not in fact have a parasite, just a slight bacterial infection that had subsided on its own. I waited 3.5 hours for a 2-minute check-up, of which I realized there's not only an economic inequity in access to private clinics but inequities for those short of time and working, but I'm glad she was able to confirm that all was okay.